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Friday, June 8, 2012

IAF Article: Ornamentals for home aquaria

Today I've turned my attention to the ornamental market. Interestingly, most freshwater species are farmed but marine species are largely caught. Dr Jack M James of AquaBio
Tech Group, Malta, gives and overview of the industry.

The
trade in ornamental fish and invertebrates is a truly global
industry, generating many millions of dollars, and touching the lives
of a vast range of people. From artisanal fishermen in Indonesia, to
importers and exporters in Singapore and Spain, farmers in the Czech
Republic and Florida and ending with the home aquarist in any one of
hundreds of countries worldwide, the appeal of ornamanetals is
worldwide.

While
freshwater ornamental fish are largely farmed, thereby providing a
sustainable and renewable supply, marine species are largely wild
caught, leading to a potential for species loss, ecological
imbalance, and habitat degradation. As the ornamental industry
provides livelihoods in many places where there are very few
opportunities for employment, it is important that the industry is
encouraged to grow, but it is essential that proper monitoring is in
place to ensure that this growth is sustainable, in terms of
individual species, population ecology, and habitat preservation.

Industry scale

Livengood
and Chapman (2008) estimated that some 1539 species of marine and
freshwater fish, 102 species of hard and soft coral and 293 species
of invertebrates were traded globally. According to FAO statistics
from 2004, as summarised by Ploeg (2004), between 1974 and 2004, the
number of countries reporting ornamental fish exports rose from 28 to
146, and this number is expected to continue to rise.

It
is expected that most of these are developing countries which see the
export of ornamental fish as a means to increase employment and
generate wealth. The worldwide value of exports in 2004 was reported
to be US$251m, a rise of US$230m in the preceding 30 years at an
average 14 per cent per annum, with a retail value of approximately
US$2.2bn.

A
further FAO report in 2008 valued exports at US$278m in 2005
(Livengood and Chapman, 2008). At these rates, it could be estimated
that global exports now value over US$600m, although the effects of
the global economic slowdown are not yet known for the sector.

In
terms of the division of these exports between regions and countries,
55 per cent of the 2004 exports came from Asia, while 25 per cent
came from Europe, mainly the Czech Republic. Between 1974 and 2004,
the number of countries importing ornamental species rose from 32 to
120, with a slight dip in the interim. The largest of the importers
of ornamental fish was Europe with 51 per cent (the UK alone imports
19 per cent of this figure), and North America with 26 per cent of
the market share (the USA making up 87 per cent of this, making the
largest single country importer with nearly 23 per cent of the global
market share).

Of
the exporting countries, the fastest growth was seen in Czech
Republic and Spain, while drops were noted in exports from the USA,
Germany and Hong Kong, presumably linked to reducing imports into
Japan, an important destination for ornamentals from these countries.

Monitoring
of the global trade

The
effective monitoring of the global trade is essential in order to
properly record and analyse the volumes of species traded, in
particular those perceived as vulnerable or under threat, to prevent
irreversible damage. Through monitoring, a balance can be achieved
and maintained between the demand for ornamental species, the need
for income and employment, and the ecological requirements of
habitats and populations. This balance can then provide for a
sustainable industry into the future, reducing the risk of
catastrophic loss of habitat or ecological imbalance potentially
leading to socioeconomic issues in less developed areas.

In
2000, in response to a need for better monitoring of marine
ornamental trade, the United Nations Environment Programme World
Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), the Marine Aquarium
Council (MAC) and members of various aquarium trade associations
began, in collaboration, to address this need and created the Global
Marine Aquarium Database (GMAD).

Trade
data has been obtained from wholesale exporters and importers of
marine aquarium organisms and integrated into quantitative,
species-specific information which has been made public.

Fifty-eight
companies, approximately one-fifth of the wholesalers in business,
and four government management authorities have provided data to
GMAD. In August 2003 the dataset contained 102,928 trade records (7.7
million imported and 9.4 million exported animals) covering a total
of 2,393 species of fish, corals and invertebrates and spanning the
years 1988 to 2003. It was believed that this data permitted the most
accurate quantitative estimates available of the size of the global
trade in marine ornamental fish and corals, and the first ever
estimates for invertebrates other than corals.

A
consultation on the monitoring the industry conducted in 2008 carried
out for the European Commission by UNEP and the WCMC stated that a
properly monitored and sustainably managed industry can present a
valuable opportunity for income generation and support to
livelihoods, while also providing an alternative to environmentally
destructive activities.

Not
monitoring the trade could, on the other hand, lead to an over
exploitation of resources, damaging the long term future potential of
the industry. The consultation identified the six mechanisms for
monitoring the trade at species level as:

1. the
monitoring activities put in place by certification schemes (e.g.
Marine Aquarium Council - MAC)

2. GMAD

3. the
statistics generated by Customs and FAO,

4. CITES

5. veterinary
controls

6. Annex
D of the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations.

In
analysing these monitoring options, they determined that
certification schemes are desirable but provide only partial
coverage, are expensive, some have been unsuccessful, and there is
little evidence of consumer awareness.

GMAD,
being voluntary, was found to not be comprehensive enough for
monitoring trade for conservation purposes.

Information
generated by customs and FAO lacks the detail in the information
required for conservation purposes.

CITES
is effective at targeted monitoring of individual species of
interest, however the monetary cost of obtaining permits to trade can
be prohibitive.

Veterinary
controls, for example in the EU, record species level data which
could be useful for conservation purposes; however,
at the time of the report, this data was being not captured and so
valuable information was not being aggregated in a standardised and
accessible manner.

Finally,
Annex D of the EU Wildlife Trade Regulations proved to be the most
effective tool for monitoring for conservation purposes, providing
species level data of unrestricted species, with no monetary cost to
the importer, making it the only instrument that could, at the time
of the report, provide comprehensive species level data on the
international trade in species of conservation concern. However,
there was a willingness for EC veterinary controls to be investigated
as a further mechanism for monitoring the trade.

While
concerns were raised regarding the fact that these controls will only
accurately monitoring imports into the EU while global trade may be
underestimated, the fact that there is a system in place which is
effective at monitor the ornamental trade is encouraging. It is
therefore imperative that monitoring systems which can act on a
global scale and based on those identified as being effective are
initiated in order to provide proper traceability and sustainable
development of the industry going forward.

Sustainability
of marine ornamental supply

Despite
sometimes being accused of causing undue degradation of populations
and habitats, the marine ornamental trade is a low volume, high value
industry. In 2000, 1kg of aquarium fish from the Maldives was valued
at almost US$500, whereas 1kg of reef fish harvested for food was
worth only US$6. Furthermore, the live coral trade is estimated to be
worth about US$7,000 per tonne,
whereas the use of harvested coral for the production of limestone
yields only about US$60 per tonne (Wabnitz et
al, 2003).
There is therefore a clear financial incentive to preserve the
important marine habitats and populations which provide to the
ornamental industry, such as coral reefs and mangroves.

It
is clear from the information available that the potential is there
for a sustainable and profitable industry, but from the case study of
the GMAD, there are clearly still large gaps in the knowledge on, in
particular, marine ornamental harvesting.

This
creates a need for a two pronged approach to developing a sustainable
marine ornamental industry – the first being improved monitoring as
discussed previously, and the second being an effort to increase the
number of species which are cultured for the industry. Only one-10
per cent of marine ornamental fish and less than one per cent of hard
corals are cultured (Wabnitz et
al, 2003),
this is in contrast to over 90 per cent of freshwater ornamental
species. In order to increase the proportion of marine species
cultured, simple and cost effective culture methods must be sought
which enable poor communities which rely on harvesting to switch
their efforts to culture, thereby moving towards a more sustainable
industry while not neglecting the beneficial potential of the
ornamental trade for these communities.

The
responsible aquarist

An
appreciation by the home aquarist is the first step to
self-regulation in terms of promoting sustainably sourced or farmed
animals over those known to come from unsustainable wild fisheries.
For example, in some wild fisheries collectors may use highly toxic
substances such as sodium cyanide in marine environments and rotenone
in freshwater systems to incapacitate the fish prior to collection.

Such
practices can have long term toxic effects on the species assemblage
and the community as a whole. Losses post capture can also be very
high, up to 80 per cent for some tropical marine fish, while other
species such as cardinal tetra can have mortality as low as six per
cent, and so proper species selection to reduce demand for livestock
which do not travel well can have a beneficial impact.

Additionally,
better guidelines for collection, transport, and storage can help to
reduce mortality. Therefore the consumer can have a marked impact on
enhancing the sustainability of the industry through being aware of
and choosing the most sustainably sourced livestock available, while
ensuring they are properly educated on the requirements of their
chosen livestock, so reducing mortality at home.

To
highlight the role that responsible and properly informed aquarists
can play, trade data, correlated with aquarium suitability
information, indicates that two species known not to acclimatise well
to aquarium conditions are nonetheless very commonly traded. They are
the bluestreak cleaner wrasse (Labroides
dimidiatus:
87,000 individuals traded between 1997 and 2002) and the mandarin
fish (Synchiropus
splendidus:
11,000 live individuals exported to the EU in the same period).

Data
further indicates that species characterised as ‘truly unsuitable’,
mainly due to their restricted dietary requirements, such as the
foureye butterflyfish (Chaetodon
capistratus),
the harlequin filefish (Oxymonacanthus
longisrostris)
and the Hawaiian cleaner wrasse (Labroides
phtirophagus),
are also commonly traded, albeit in lower numbers (Wabnitz et
al, 2003).
Demand for species such as these is presumably perpetuated by
mortality in home aquaria due to the unsuitable conditions, and it is
these kinds of practises which can be minimised or eradicated through
responsible aquarium keeping.

The
global ornamental trade is a strong and growing industry, and it
benefits all walks of life through wealth generation and aesthetic
enjoyment. It has the opportunity to become a unique example of an
ecologically and financially sustainable and renewable industry,
where wealth flows from some of the worlds richest economies to some
of the very poorest communities around the world.

However,
in order to do this, improved systems for monitoring the global trade
must be sought and implemented, and aquarists must strive to be as
well educated as possible on the source and care of their livestock.
In this way, the inhabitants of our home aquaria can remain some of
the world’s most popular companion animals, while remaining
affordable and healthy, and above all without damaging their natural
habitats and populations.